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Following a successful launch of NASA<\/strong>\u2019s SpaceX<\/strong> 31st commercial resupply mission (SpX-31), new scientific experiments and cargo for the agency are bound for the International Space Station. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying more than 6,000 pounds of supplies to the orbiting laboratory, lifted off at 9:29 p.m. EST Monday, on the company\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. <\/p>\n Live coverage of the spacecraft\u2019s arrival will begin at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, on NASA+ and the agency\u2019s website. The spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously dock at approximately 10:15 a.m. to the forward port of the space station\u2019s Harmony module. The resupply mission will support dozens of research experiments conducted during Expedition 72. In addition to food, supplies, and equipment for the crew, Dragon will deliver several new experiments, including the Coronal Diagnostic Experiment, to examine solar wind and how it forms. Dragon also delivers Antarctic moss to observe the combined effects of cosmic radiation and microgravity on plants. Other investigations aboard include a device to test cold welding of metals in microgravity and an investigation that studies how space impacts different materials.<\/p>\n These are just a sample of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Such research benefits humanity and lays the groundwork for future human exploration through the agency\u2019s Artemis campaign, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars. The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until December when it will depart the orbiting laboratory and return to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.<\/p>\n